Miserable People

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. ~Herm Albright,

The best way to annoy people that hate the world and everything around them is to be nice to them. They usually go out of their way to wipe the smug smile off a face, especially when that smile is directed towards them. Case in point: when I was about seven years old I was on a New York City sidewalk, playing with my invisible friend, when a slender, old, fellow stopped a few feet away from me. At first I thought he was going to quiz me about my conversation with someone he couldn’t see, but I soon discovered that he stopped because he spotted a kitty under a parked car.

The half bald man with beady eyes that didn’t seem to match the hardened face began to coax the kitty out of from under the car. He exuded a warm smile, revealing missing teeth. I wouldn’t have expected anything amiss if it weren’t for my invisible friend. He said, “Don’t take your eyes off this guy. Watch him.”

At first I was puzzled at why my invisible friend was interested in the nice old man. The pale individual with the large sacks under his eyes squatted and continued to call the kitty with a sweet, warm voice. The little feline inched closer to him, glancing at my invisible friend and me. Nevertheless, it began to trust the old guy as it got closer.

“Aw, Kitty, Kitty, come here baby.” I thought I was witnessing the nicest man alive. Someone who cared for animals, someone I could take after.

My invisible friend said, “Keep watching.”

The kitten gently banged his head against the man’s shins, begging for affection. Affection it obviously missed since it was a stray. I thought how wonderful that the kind senior citizen took time out of his busy life to show a stray some much needed love.

The old guy rose to his feet, continuing to coo the kitty, but without warning, he lifted his right leg and kicked the kitty to the other side of the street amid high pitched squeals. “Damn, rotten cats! I hate them all!"

I didn’t blink. I didn’t move, shocked at what I had just witnessed. The old brute glanced at me and said, “Cats are evil.” He stormed off and left me listening to the kitten’s cries and my invisible friend’s laughter.

Now that I’m an adult, I reflect on the past and realize, I don’t like miserable people. At first I’d fight fire with fire but now I know that all though it could be extremely challenging, it’s best to fight a miserable person with a smoldering smile.

I guess that in a sense, I do get pleasure from other people’s misery only; I particularly enjoy annoying miserable, sour pusses. I recall thinking, the old man needed to learn a lesson and I remember distinctly wishing that I was bigger so I could kick him to the other side of the street. When my invisible friend stopped laughing, his mood changed. He became worried about me and mentioned a word I wouldn’t understand for a few years to come. He said, “Don’t worry about the old man, he’ll get his soon enough. Karma’s a bitch.”

“What’s that?”

“What you do in this world, will get done to you, sooner or later.”

“Huh?”

“Come on! Let’s go check on the kitty. Maybe it’s dead and you can open it up and see its body parts.”

“Yuck” I said, “why would I want to do that?”

“Don’t tell me you’re squeamish like a girl?”

As luck would have it, the kitty was fine and hid under another vehicle. I decided to go to the roof of my grandmother’s building with a carton of eggs and hunt for miserable people who obsessed over cleaning their new cars. I waited for hours hoping to get a shot at the old man. I never saw him again but I hoped Karma bitched slapped him to another neighborhood.

Nomar Knight

Lost and Afraid

Mazeophobia is the fear of getting lost. When I was young, I hated getting lost. There was something about being in unfamiliar territory. I despised the body's mechanism for advertising my stress. I'd wipe my sweaty palms off my jeans, all the while searching my surroundings, wide eyed. It wasn't long before probing eyes would glare in my direction, probably wondering what was wrong. Of course, I took the penetrating stares to be an invasion of my person. An attempt by aliens to abduct me and take me to an even stranger place. Then there was the fear that instead of concerned humans encircling me to lend a helping hand, that they'd be something monstrous like witches, vampires and werewolves. I'd heard the stories about children who'd go missing after getting lost. I was determined that wouldn't happen to me. No way I was going to let some monster eat me and wipe me off the face of the earth.

Some years later, I recall being in a car with someone that still had Mazeophobia. Of course, the fact that I seemed in control didn't mean I was cured; better perhaps, but not cured. Anyway, we wandered off from the desired destination and because of my refusal to ask for directions, I am a man after all, she had a fit. Curses spewed my way, loud shouts of nonsense words I automatically tuned out. I wanted to shut her up. Violent thoughts entered my mind, briefly, but then I recalled my childhood and my fear of getting lost. When the woman realized I was calmer than ever, she stopped screaming and asked, "You know where we are? You must know because you're so calm." I nodded, "Of course I know where I am." With raised eyebrows she asked, "Where are we?" I struggled to fight off a grin. Looking straight ahead at uncharted territory, I no longer saw the dangers of getting lost. I no longer worried about the boogie men who waited outside of my safe car for me to step out and become a victim; another statistic of a lost soul disappearing into an abyss of evil. I loosened my grip on the steering wheel, tilted my head towards the frightened lunatic and in a calm, soft voice said, "I know exactly where we are. We're in my car."

I expected her to attack with a barrage of punches, but instead she sat quietly, staring at the dashboard. I broke her trance with the most confident voice I could muster, "I'll find the place. I promise."

Through clenched teeth she said, "If you don't ask someone for directions, I swear I'll kill you, leave your body here in this Godforsaken place and I'll tell everyone you went missing because you got out to pee and got lost. The authorities will believe me, cause I'm a woman." Her eyes bulged from their sockets. I swear I saw a vein pulsating on the side of her head.

I spotted an elderly gentleman, lowered the window, bit the bullet, and asked him for directions. The old man threw us off further from our intended destination. Before the woman could get another panic attack, I calmly said, "I will find the place because the force is with me."

Experience has shown me that the world really is a small place.


Nomar Knight

Bad Character! Mr. Quality Jones

The nerve of some characters. I know I haven't been updating my blog like I should but I've been busy editing, rewriting stories that I want to submit for publication and writing a new book. Well, maybe a few books. Regardless, that doesn't give any of my characters permission to high jack my blog. Bad character, Quality, bad!

Let's see where I stand. Quality Jones is still frozen in time and he may well be that way for a few months more. A new character has my attention. Actually, he's an old character only now I know his name. He's Hunter Colby, a rookie FBI agent working in the anti-terrorist task force. It turns out he's gotten himself in a world of trouble. I always suspected there's more to this country than anyone has let on, you know; a secret society that's aware of things us plain folk could never fathom. Hunter finds out first hand what happens when secret agents clash with supernatural forces. A struggle for control is inevitable and Hunter's caught in the thick of things. The fact that his psychic aunt revealed to him when he was young that he was destined for greatness, has perhaps steered him in uncommon ground.

Sorry I'm being vague, it's just I'm waiting for something even more jarring to occur. I believe revelation will come either tonight or tomorrow.

As for the Countess Lorraina Sandoval, don't cry for her. She'll get her moment in the spotlight soon enough.

In the meantime, I'm rewriting two short stories, both to be entered in contests, one in WDC and the other I hope to see published in a literature site. If it wins that contest great, but anyone who knows me, knows I don't care about winning contests, just improving as a writer and hopefully entertaining my few readers. :-)

I'm also helping my friend Taniuska with her sensational novel Wolfkin Be sure to purchase it when it comes out. Which of course, I'll review it here.

I have to keep it brief today because I hear Hunter calling me. (Licks lips) This should be fun.

Anyone who may be interested in following me on Facebook, feel free to do so. I'm the one and only

Nomar Knight

The High Jacking of Knight Chills

To Nomar Knight's readers, please forgive him for not writing in his blog. As for me, I'm miffed at him.

Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Quality Jones and I'm one of Nomar's new characters. I have taken it upon myself to be a guest blogger since he's busy paying attention to two of his oldest characters. Well, not old in age but in their acquaintance. He's busy jotting down the adventures of Lieutenant Harold Woods, a clairvoyant homicide detective, and a psycho named Juan Sanchez who goes by the name Paco. It seems Mr. Knight thinks that a couple of missing children are more important than my story.

Like I mentioned before, I'm Quality Jones and I'm a time traveler. I've been jumping into wormholes, chasing after my fiance's killer. An organization I work for, who doesn't officially exist in Mr. Knight's modern era, calls my nemesis, Jack. Mr. Knight has interesting theories about the loser because he is also a time traveler. Personally, I don't care who he is, I just know I must stop him from killing more women. When last Mr. Knight probed into my life, I had just barely survived an encounter with Jack. An attractive police detective Grace Stevens, who by the way, looks like an older version of my fiance, was ready to question me about the macabre events when suddenly, time stopped.

Ha, I'm a time traveler. I feel crawling sensations in my body like a thousand spiders stabbing me with sharp needles when I'm inside one of those wormholes. There are drawbacks I have to live with like reappearing at a new location or new time, naked. Does Mr. Knight have no decency? After he puts me through the ringer and makes me jump through hurdles, not necessarily over them, I have to wait in literary oblivion until he's done examining the lives of other characters?

Well, I have more than a gripe with you Mr. freakin' attention deficit disorder Knight! I want you to hurry up and tell my story. Make me one with the universe. I don't know, but I feel that I'm not the only character you've left hanging. Hmm. Wait a second. I hear a noise outside. Let me go investigate.

Investigation done. It was just a black cat, probably another character from one of his short stories. She didn't seem too pleased to see me.

"Where's Nomar?"

A feminine voice distracted me from my rant. When I glanced at the direction from whence it came there was no one there. I muttered, "Don't tell me a ghost is pissed at him too."

"I'm not a ghost."

I glanced in the opposite direction and came face to face with the most beautiful pair of green eyes I had ever seen. A young, pale looking female about 16 or 17 stood at a breath's pace. "Mr. Knight is not here today." I was going to volunteer information until I realized, she may be dangerous. There was something about her that didn't look quite normal.

"I can read minds you know." she grinned.

The only thing I could say was, "Huh?"

"I'm Countess Lorraina Sandoval. I'm a real vampire."

The thought process began kicking in slowly. I should have registered danger but this insane woman was gorgeous.

"I'm not insane."

I gasped, "You really can read minds!"

She flashed perfect white teeth. Was that fangs I saw?

"Who are you?" Her words sounded like soft music, her low tone lulled me.

"I'm a guest blogger."

"That's strange, Nomar doesn't strike me as someone that would allow someone else to write for him."

I must have smirked because she sneered at me. "How long have you known Mr. Knight?"

"Nomar attempted to write my first book 8 years ago. He wasn't ready then. It was all too overwhelming." She flashed a long black fingernail and gently stroked my chin.

To be honest, I thought she was going to slice my throat.

"Tempting darling, but these nights, I'm very selective who I eat."

I grimaced. Why couldn't I remember that she reads minds?

She continued, "Nomar tried to rush my story. He wanted to put it all down in one book. I visited him a couple of months ago and he promised he'd dedicate this summer to me."

"Well, I hate to break it to you sweetheart, but he lied."

Her eyes grew wide. She stared at me like a starved lioness about to jump on a fat buffalo. "Er, what I mean is, that he's putting the finishing touches on a novel and he mentioned something about summoning you before the summer is over."

She flashed a smile again and this time allowed me to see her fangs. Sharp suckers. She blew me a kiss and pointed at my screen. I couldn't believe I was dumb enough to fall for such a simple deceptive move. When I glanced back in her direction, she was gone.

New message to Mr. Knight. I suggest you get the vampire book done because something tells me your life will change drastically if you don't. I'm a new character. I can wait. Although, I'd love for you to unfreeze me and at least at your leisure, let me live, even if it's within the virtual pages of your computer.


Your new friend and protagonist,

Quality Jones, timetraveler

P.S. When are you going to get around to naming my story?

Escape of the Monster Within

“Monsters are real and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.” -Stephen King

There's nothing more frightening than the shaking of fundamental reality. Humans readily accept certain truths to be self evident, counting on what society believes to be tangible, scientific facts. The old saying: if you can not see it or feel it, then it does not exist; is how most of us live our lives, at least publicly. Life would be so much easier if we choose not to let the possibility of an invisible world, interfere with our notions that everything on this planet has a reasonable explanation. To be ignorant is to allow yourself to be stunned later in life. Since we can't hide the sun's rays by holding up one finger, it is also true that we can't hide the fact that things exist which we can't explain, both in our environment and within ourselves.

While I'm aware of many evils surrounding us, I want to focus on an entity so potent, most of us don't realize it exists. Man has an innate knowledge of good and evil. With the help of their parents, they learn to suppress dark desires as best they can. Although, sins trickle out into the light as natural as a nosebleed; as a result of moral instruction, they attempt to either steer clear or hide their wicked ways. All the attempts at controlling our capacity for sin is perhaps, noble. Religion was founded for the sole purpose at keeping the sinner in line and hopefully on the path to salvation.

Let's face it. We are well aware that deep inside each of us, is a monster waiting to be unleashed. We may not admit it, and as we look around there are souls who seem incapable of performing the slightest evil deed, yet it is our birthright; it is what we are inside that terrifies me.

Today, a new book begins, one that will take me on a journey of self-discovery. One that helps examine the origins of man's inherent capacity for darkness. Here's a quote: "The beast festers within, until an evil catalyst coaxes it from hiding, unleashing atrocities upon all it touches." - The Book of Tortured Souls ©2010, by Nomar Knight

There's no need to invent new monsters when there's a terrifying menace lying dormant within. All it takes is something or someone willing to commit an act of evil so defiling that the sleeping monster will rise from within the depths of darkness and bring forth a wrath filled with hate and destruction. The scary part is the mind does not need to command the body to perform its evil deed. The mind is so powerful, that by sheer will alone, it can unleash an energy all too eager to serve its master.

The monsters are indeed real. They do live inside us, but do we really want them to win?

The Horror of Change

At last, the first draft of my new short story titled, "The Changing" is done. This story is Science Fiction and Horror. It's themes deal with change. Let's face it, people are afraid of change. There are numerous current events which point to that fact. Change is a bitter pill to swallow. There are two main characters in this tale. The first scene introduces the reader to the purple princess, later on we learn her name is Mistress Lila. She is like nothing anyone has ever seen before, although outwardly appearances would have you think she's human. However, her actions and how she relates to living creatures will quickly demonstrate that Mistress Lila is not like any woman you know. The other main character is Secret Service Agent Dante Cruz. He has special skills and a keen sense of awareness. He comes back from a hunting trip to find his world turned upside down. He could swear he was living in an alternate universe. Of course, he isn't. He's just one character resistant to change, yet he embodies change.

The opening scene screams of horror but then the story takes on a Science Fiction feel to it. Events that unfold are bizarre and the realization that we humans are vulnerable to forces not recognized by most of society, hit home hard. There are changes that occur all around us but do we have the courage to face them? Do we have what it takes to insure the survival of our kind? For all the preparation and show of force our country exudes, we were vulnerable to an air attack. When I predicted an attack by air against New York City, 15 years before the World Trade Center was hit, I was thinking more along the lines of a dropped bomb or chemical weapons. So when I saw the second plane strike the other tower, I was stunned that anyone would bring about change in such a drastic manner, just to prove a point.

Change sometimes can lead to good things, but in this story, it brings about the realization that we are not prepared for everything. There are some changes we will not welcome. If you don't believe me, ask Dante Cruz. Better yet, read "The Changing" and witness firsthand, the horror of change.

Nomar Knight

Another Side of Characterization

Have you ever made a choice where the outcome was something mundane? Let's say you decided to walk to the convenient store to buy a container of milk. Since the store is about 5 minutes away on foot, you'd normally drive, but without giving it much thought you walk to the store. You arrive at your destination, pick up the milk container, pay for it, and go back home. Boring! But wait! In one alternate universe, the other you gets run over by a truck. In yet another alternate universe, the other you meets someone interesting and gets a date for the night. The fact that that version of you is married, didn't matter because that you has no morals. In another version, you love walking because it's easier to spot your next kill. Get the picture?

I guess what I'm getting at is that it's a good idea to treat your characters the same way, always looking through the eyes of someone who sees alternate plains of existence. Let's face it, if we lived in other author's created worlds, getting milk would be quite an adventure. Imagine living in one of Laurel K. Hamilton's worlds. You go out for milk and pick up a hot babe, only to find out she's a werewolf, or vampire or whatever. Just because our lives may not be so exciting, doesn't mean our characters have to imitate us. ;-)

Until next time. Look for me at a theater near you. I just may be the quiet psycho sitting next to you, scheming, drooling for the chance to get you alone. Oops, that's not me, that would be one of my alternates in another realm. Oh well, catch you later.

Nomar Knight